Lesvos Page 4

Birdwatching

Lesvos is the transit point and home to over 279 species of birds. You'll see everything from waders to raptors. The island's four main
birdwatching centers are at Eresos, Petra, Skala Kallonisand Agiasos.

Festivals

There are a large number of festivals in July and August, when it's time to honor the island's patron saints. Things can
turn to wild bacchanals with food, drink, music, dancing, horse races and even the sacrifice of a bull, which is cooked and eaten the next day in a
tradtional dish called keskek. Major festival dates are listed below in The Complete Details section.

Drinking and Dining

Lesvos is famous
for its sardine mezedes which are a must try! The Sardine Festival is in Skala Kalloni on August 6. Lesvos' sheep's milk cheese
(ladotyri) is also justafiably famous. Try it with the also remarkable good local ouzo. The giant prawns are good
on Lesvos, too.

Accommodations

See our Greece hotels for a complete look at accommodations available on this island.

History

Lesvos is known for many who lived there. Terpander, the composer, and Arion, the poet, were born there in the 7th Century BC. Artistotle and
Epicurus taught at a school of philosophy on Lesvos. Sappho, on of the greatest poets of ancient Greece, was born here in 630 BC. More recently the
painter Theophilos and the Nobel Prize-winning poet Odysseus Elytis were born on the island.

Sappho's famous poems were all but eliminated from existance during book burnings in 1073, when they were judged morally offensive. What does
remain survived by accident.

The Turks ruled from 1462 to 1912 and many Ottoman houses and buildings remain.